UAE swimmer sets sights on new record

Dubai: Setting a new UAE record for the 100 metre freestyle is the dream of swimmer Obaid Al Jasmi as he leaves for the Beijing Olympics on Wednesday.

Al Jasmi flew into Dubai on Tuesday and barely had a day to be with his family before making the long trip to Beijing.

"Swimming comes first to me. It is in my blood, and as I leave I am thinking so much of setting a new UAE record in Beijing," Al Jasmi told Gulf News.

The majority of the UAE squad is already in China, with the country being represented by eight athletes at the Games. Sailor Adil Khalid, who left on Monday morning, was among the last to go.

Al Jasmi currently holds the UAE record in the 100 metre freestyle with a time of 53.7 seconds. The current world record by Frenchman Alain Bernard is 47.50 seconds.

But while the swimmer doesn't expect to medal in Beijing, he is desperate to break the UAE mark after working on a strategy with his US coach Jay Benner during a training camp in Tunisia.

Confidence boost

"The good news is that each time I swam I came very close to the national times. And that gives me a lot of confidence as I leave for Beijing," Al Jasmi said.

"The idea is to concentrate on my race. I will swim the first 50 metres under 25 seconds and then try and cover the last 50 metres under 27 seconds,"

Another factor boosting his confidence is the fact that Beijing will be his second appearance at the Olympics.

He made his debut four years ago in Athens where he swam a 54.1 seconds in the 100 freestyle.

"That was a different," he said. "I was nervous going to my first ever Olympic Games. Since then I have swam in two Fina World Championships [Melbourne and Manchester] and I am much more experienced in handling the pressure, both in and out of the water," Al Jasmi said.

"The experience that one derives from merely participating in international competitions is immense, and I think I am a much better swimmer than what I was four years back," he added.

The Gulf record in 100 metre freestyle stands at 52.07 by Ahmad Medwa of Kuwait. The Kuwaiti has been training in the US for the past four years now, and Al Jasmi is expecting to meet him in China.

"That really does not matter as we will have a chance to face each other at the Gulf Championships in Abu Dhabi," he said.

"I don't expect to win a medal in Beijing, but I will spare no effort to see that the UAE flag flies high at the Games," added.

"My mind is set on a new UAE record, and that's the first priority," he said.

The UAE swimmer has been pleased with his achievements during his stay in Tunisia.

Benner ensured that Al Jasmi got an adequate number of competition races under his belt ahead of the Games - a strategy that proved effective in the swimmer setting a new national record in the 100 metre butterfly.

"I must have averaged between 15 to 18 races at different competitions there," Al Jasmi said. "And my times in the other races were very close to the national records. Such experiences of participating in top-level races can never go waste," he added.